# How to integrate Exa MCP with Autogen ```json { "title": "How to integrate Exa MCP with Autogen", "toolkit": "Exa", "toolkit_slug": "exa", "framework": "AutoGen", "framework_slug": "autogen", "url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/autogen", "markdown_url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/autogen.md", "updated_at": "2026-05-06T08:11:01.203Z" } ``` ## Introduction This guide walks you through connecting Exa to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Exa agent that can summarize recent news articles on ai safety, find similar research papers to this url, create a webset for quarterly sales data through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your AutoGen agent real control over a Exa account through Composio's Exa MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved. ## Also integrate Exa with - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-code) - [Claude Cowork](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-cowork) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/crew-ai) ## TL;DR Here's what you'll learn: - Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys - Install the required dependencies for Autogen and Composio - Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Exa - Wire that MCP URL into Autogen using McpWorkbench and StreamableHttpServerParams - Configure an Autogen AssistantAgent that can call Exa tools - Run a live chat loop where you ask the agent to perform Exa operations ## What is AutoGen? Autogen is a framework for building multi-agent conversational AI systems from Microsoft. It enables you to create agents that can collaborate, use tools, and maintain complex workflows. Key features include: - Multi-Agent Systems: Build collaborative agent workflows - MCP Workbench: Native support for Model Context Protocol tools - Streaming HTTP: Connect to external services through streamable HTTP - AssistantAgent: Pre-built agent class for tool-using assistants ## What is the Exa MCP server, and what's possible with it? The Exa MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to your Exa account. It provides structured and secure access to your Exa data platform, so your agent can perform actions like extracting answers from web data, running semantic searches, managing imports, and automating monitoring across your datasets. - Citation-backed question answering: Have your agent generate direct, source-cited answers or detailed summaries for your research questions using Exa’s advanced search. - Semantic similarity search: Quickly find web pages or documents that are semantically related to a given URL, complete with highlights or summaries for context. - Data import and webset management: Let your agent create, configure, or delete imports and websets to streamline data gathering and enrichment workflows. - Automated data monitoring: Schedule and manage monitors for websets to keep your data fresh and up-to-date with minimal manual intervention. - Event tracking and retrieval: Access a full history of system events or fetch details for specific events to stay on top of activity within your Exa environment. ## Supported Tools | Tool slug | Name | Description | |---|---|---| | `EXA_ANSWER` | Generate an answer | Generates a direct, citation-backed answer to a clear natural language question or topic using exa's search, adept at both specific answers and detailed summaries for open-ended queries. | | `EXA_CREATE_IMPORT` | Create Import | Tool to create a new import to upload data into a webset. use when you need to initialize an import before uploading the data file. | | `EXA_CREATE_MONITOR` | Create a Monitor | Tool to create a new monitor. use when you need to schedule automated updates for a webset without manual runs. | | `EXA_CREATE_WEBSET` | Create Webset | Tool to create a new webset with search, import, and enrichment setup. use when you need to configure and seed a webset in one call. | | `EXA_DELETE_IMPORT` | Delete import | Tool to delete an existing import. use when you need to permanently remove an import by its id. | | `EXA_DELETE_WEBSET` | Delete webset | Tool to delete a webset. use after confirming the webset id to permanently remove the webset and all its items. | | `EXA_FIND_SIMILAR` | Find similar | Finds web pages semantically similar to a given url using embeddings-based search, optionally retrieving full text, highlights, or summaries for results. | | `EXA_GET_CONTENTS_ACTION` | Get contents from URLs or document IDs | Retrieves configurable text and highlights from a list of exa document ids or publicly accessible urls. | | `EXA_GET_EVENT` | Get Event | Tool to get details of a specific event by its id. use when you have an event id and need its full details. | | `EXA_LIST_EVENTS` | List events | Tool to list all events that have occurred in the system. use when you need to paginate through the event history. | | `EXA_LIST_IMPORTS` | List imports | Tool to list all imports for the webset. use when you need to paginate through and monitor import jobs. | | `EXA_LIST_WEBHOOKS` | List webhooks | Tool to list all webhooks for websets. use when you need to view existing webhooks and paginate through results. | | `EXA_SEARCH` | Search | Performs a web search using the exa engine, useful for queries requiring advanced filtering, specific content categories, or ai-optimized prompting. | | `EXA_UPDATE_IMPORT` | Update import | Tool to update an import configuration by id. use when you need to modify an import's title or metadata. | ## Supported Triggers None listed. ## Creating MCP Server - Stand-alone vs Composio SDK The Exa MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agents and assistants directly to Exa. Instead of manually wiring Exa APIs, OAuth, and scopes yourself, you get a structured, tool-based interface that an LLM can call safely. With Composio's managed implementation, you don't have to create your own developer app. For production, if you're building an end product, we recommend using your own credentials. The managed server helps you prototype fast and go from 0-1 faster. ## Step-by-step Guide ### 1. Prerequisites You will need: - A Composio API key - An OpenAI API key (used by Autogen's OpenAIChatCompletionClient) - A Exa account you can connect to Composio - Some basic familiarity with Autogen and Python async ### 1. Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio OpenAI API Key - Go to the [OpenAI dashboard](https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/api-keys) and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider. - Keep the API key safe. Composio API Key - Log in to the [Composio dashboard](https://dashboard.composio.dev?utm_source=toolkits&utm_medium=framework_docs). - Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key. - Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication. ### 2. Install dependencies Install Composio, Autogen extensions, and dotenv. What's happening: - composio connects your agent to Exa via MCP - autogen-agentchat provides the AssistantAgent class - autogen-ext-openai provides the OpenAI model client - autogen-ext-tools provides MCP workbench support ```bash pip install composio python-dotenv pip install autogen-agentchat autogen-ext-openai autogen-ext-tools ``` ### 3. Set up environment variables Create a .env file in your project folder. What's happening: - COMPOSIO_API_KEY is required to talk to Composio - OPENAI_API_KEY is used by Autogen's OpenAI client - USER_ID is how Composio identifies which user's Exa connections to use ```bash COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key USER_ID=your-user-identifier@example.com ``` ### 4. Import dependencies and create Tool Router session What's happening: - load_dotenv() reads your .env file - Composio(api_key=...) initializes the SDK - create(...) creates a Tool Router session that exposes Exa tools - session.mcp.url is the MCP endpoint that Autogen will connect to ```python import asyncio import os from dotenv import load_dotenv from composio import Composio from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams load_dotenv() async def main(): # Initialize Composio and create a Exa session composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")) session = composio.create( user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"), toolkits=["exa"] ) url = session.mcp.url ``` ### 5. Configure MCP parameters for Autogen Autogen expects parameters describing how to talk to the MCP server. That is what StreamableHttpServerParams is for. What's happening: - url points to the Tool Router MCP endpoint from Composio - timeout is the HTTP timeout for requests - sse_read_timeout controls how long to wait when streaming responses - terminate_on_close=True cleans up the MCP server process when the workbench is closed ```python # Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams( url=url, timeout=30.0, sse_read_timeout=300.0, terminate_on_close=True, headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")} ) ``` ### 6. Create the model client and agent What's happening: - OpenAIChatCompletionClient wraps the OpenAI model for Autogen - McpWorkbench connects the agent to the MCP tools - AssistantAgent is configured with the Exa tools from the workbench ```python # Create model client model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient( model="gpt-5", api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY") ) # Use McpWorkbench as context manager async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench: # Create Exa assistant agent with MCP tools agent = AssistantAgent( name="exa_assistant", description="An AI assistant that helps with Exa operations.", model_client=model_client, workbench=workbench, model_client_stream=True, max_tool_iterations=10 ) ``` ### 7. Run the interactive chat loop What's happening: - The script prompts you in a loop with You: - Autogen passes your input to the model, which decides which Exa tools to call via MCP - agent.run_stream(...) yields streaming messages as the agent thinks and calls tools - Typing exit, quit, or bye ends the loop ```python print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n") print("Ask any Exa related question or task to the agent.\n") # Conversation loop while True: user_input = input("You: ").strip() if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]: print("\nGoodbye!") break if not user_input: continue print("\nAgent is thinking...\n") # Run the agent with streaming try: response_text = "" async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input): if hasattr(message, "content") and message.content: response_text = message.content # Print the final response if response_text: print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n") else: print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n") except Exception as e: print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n") ``` ## Complete Code ```python import asyncio import os from dotenv import load_dotenv from composio import Composio from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams load_dotenv() async def main(): # Initialize Composio and create a Exa session composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")) session = composio.create( user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"), toolkits=["exa"] ) url = session.mcp.url # Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams( url=url, timeout=30.0, sse_read_timeout=300.0, terminate_on_close=True, headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")} ) # Create model client model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient( model="gpt-5", api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY") ) # Use McpWorkbench as context manager async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench: # Create Exa assistant agent with MCP tools agent = AssistantAgent( name="exa_assistant", description="An AI assistant that helps with Exa operations.", model_client=model_client, workbench=workbench, model_client_stream=True, max_tool_iterations=10 ) print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n") print("Ask any Exa related question or task to the agent.\n") # Conversation loop while True: user_input = input("You: ").strip() if user_input.lower() in ['exit', 'quit', 'bye']: print("\nGoodbye!") break if not user_input: continue print("\nAgent is thinking...\n") # Run the agent with streaming try: response_text = "" async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input): if hasattr(message, 'content') and message.content: response_text = message.content # Print the final response if response_text: print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n") else: print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n") except Exception as e: print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n") if __name__ == "__main__": asyncio.run(main()) ``` ## Conclusion You now have an Autogen assistant wired into Exa through Composio's Tool Router and MCP. From here you can: - Add more toolkits to the toolkits list, for example notion or hubspot - Refine the agent description to point it at specific workflows - Wrap this script behind a UI, Slack bot, or internal tool Once the pattern is clear for Exa, you can reuse the same structure for other MCP-enabled apps with minimal code changes. ## How to build Exa MCP Agent with another framework - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-code) - [Claude Cowork](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/claude-cowork) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/ai-sdk) - [Mastra AI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/mastra-ai) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/exa/framework/crew-ai) ## Related Toolkits - [Firecrawl](https://composio.dev/toolkits/firecrawl) - Firecrawl automates large-scale web crawling and data extraction. It helps organizations efficiently gather, index, and analyze content from online sources. - [Tavily](https://composio.dev/toolkits/tavily) - Tavily offers powerful search and data retrieval from documents, databases, and the web. It helps teams locate and filter information instantly, saving hours on research. - [Serpapi](https://composio.dev/toolkits/serpapi) - SerpApi is a real-time API for structured search engine results. It lets you automate SERP data collection, parsing, and analysis for SEO and research. - [Peopledatalabs](https://composio.dev/toolkits/peopledatalabs) - Peopledatalabs delivers B2B data enrichment and identity resolution APIs. Supercharge your apps with accurate, up-to-date business and contact data. - [Snowflake](https://composio.dev/toolkits/snowflake) - Snowflake is a cloud data warehouse built for elastic scaling, secure data sharing, and fast SQL analytics across major clouds. - [Posthog](https://composio.dev/toolkits/posthog) - PostHog is an open-source analytics platform for tracking user interactions and product metrics. It helps teams refine features, analyze funnels, and reduce churn with actionable insights. - [Amplitude](https://composio.dev/toolkits/amplitude) - Amplitude is a digital analytics platform for product and behavioral data insights. It helps teams analyze user journeys and make data-driven decisions quickly. - [Bright Data MCP](https://composio.dev/toolkits/brightdata_mcp) - Bright Data MCP is an AI-powered web scraping and data collection platform. Instantly access public web data in real time with advanced scraping tools. - [Browseai](https://composio.dev/toolkits/browseai) - Browseai is a web automation and data extraction platform that turns any website into an API. It's perfect for monitoring websites and retrieving structured data without manual scraping. - [ClickHouse](https://composio.dev/toolkits/clickhouse) - ClickHouse is an open-source, column-oriented database for real-time analytics and big data processing using SQL. Its lightning-fast query performance makes it ideal for handling large datasets and delivering instant insights. - [Coinmarketcal](https://composio.dev/toolkits/coinmarketcal) - CoinMarketCal is a community-powered crypto calendar for upcoming events, announcements, and releases. It helps traders track market-moving developments and stay ahead in the crypto space. - [Control d](https://composio.dev/toolkits/control_d) - Control d is a customizable DNS filtering and traffic redirection platform. It helps you manage internet access, enforce policies, and monitor usage across devices and networks. - [Databox](https://composio.dev/toolkits/databox) - Databox is a business analytics platform that connects your data from any tool and device. It helps you track KPIs, build dashboards, and discover actionable insights. - [Databricks](https://composio.dev/toolkits/databricks) - Databricks is a unified analytics platform for big data and AI on the lakehouse architecture. It empowers data teams to collaborate, analyze, and build scalable solutions efficiently. - [Datagma](https://composio.dev/toolkits/datagma) - Datagma delivers data intelligence and analytics for business growth and market discovery. Get actionable market insights and track competitors to inform your strategy. - [Delighted](https://composio.dev/toolkits/delighted) - Delighted is a customer feedback platform based on the Net Promoter System®. It helps you quickly gather, track, and act on customer sentiment. - [Dovetail](https://composio.dev/toolkits/dovetail) - Dovetail is a research analysis platform for transcript review and insight generation. It helps teams code interviews, analyze feedback, and create actionable research summaries. - [Dub](https://composio.dev/toolkits/dub) - Dub is a short link management platform with analytics and API access. Use it to easily create, manage, and track branded short links for your business. - [Elasticsearch](https://composio.dev/toolkits/elasticsearch) - Elasticsearch is a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine for all types of data. It delivers fast, scalable search and powerful analytics across massive datasets. - [Fireflies](https://composio.dev/toolkits/fireflies) - Fireflies.ai is an AI-powered meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and analyzes voice conversations. It helps teams capture call notes automatically and search or summarize meetings effortlessly. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Exa MCP? With a standalone Exa MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Exa tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Exa and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint. ### Can I use Tool Router MCP with Autogen? Yes, you can. Autogen fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Exa tools. ### Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Exa while using Tool Router? Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Exa scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do. ### How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router? All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Exa data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. --- [See all toolkits](https://composio.dev/toolkits) · [Composio docs](https://docs.composio.dev/llms.txt)